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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

The Misfits by James Howe

Oh this book. It was good. It was really good. But I was sad when I finished it. Though it doesn't end sad. I was sad because I got this book because of Dewey. And I would've loved to be able to talk to her about this book. I used to always go look on Dewey's Bookmooch wishlist and see what she was interested in reading. And then of course, I would steal those books and add them to my own wishlist :p Well, The Misfits was one of those books. And I have a feeling she really would've loved this one. It sums up what Dewey used to embrace and the causes she championed.
The Misfits is about a group of four kids who don't fit in too well at school and are picked on frequently. Addie is really tall for her age and is really smart too so she gets picked on. Joe is gay and happens to also be pretty feminine most of the time. Skeezie is one of those poor kids (like I was) who's just greasy all the time. And Bobby, our narrator is a little chubby. All of these kids are WONDERFUL. I loved them all so much. And I wish I could've had their initiative as a child.
They take their "problems" and try to make the world a better place because of them. They run together for student council as a new party called the "No Name Party". Complete with signs all over that say names that they've been called with a line drawn through them. Howe does a wonderful job of showing how amazing these kids truly are, though doesn't hide that they have flaws too. For instance, Addie originally wants a black kid to run for president just because he's black...she thinks it will help their cause. Which of course is pretty much being just as racist as calling someone a name. It was the one thing that bugged me in the book, but then it didn't too because he was making the point that it was wrong to single someone out regardless of your reasoning behind it.
I could've used this book as a kid. I got picked on for being too girly and for being fat when I was in school. I think bullying is one of the absolute worst problems we have. It affects you for the rest of your life. You never completely recover from being bullied. I see kids come into the hospital all the time because of suicide attempts because of bullying. If there was one cause I could champion, it would be ending bullying. People just don't realize how horrible it is and the lifelong, catastrophic effect it has on people. I'd love to see this book made required reading in school. Overall, fantastic book.